So long, Boys’ Club: How Monday Girl is changing the game for women
Women are at a disadvantage when it comes to networking, and Monday Girl is here to help.
Welcome to the second issue of our Game Changer series on Humber Views! Today, I will be talking about Monday Girl, an all-women career group based in Toronto that provides career advice and resources to women who want to grow their professional network and develop their careers. There are many studies that show how women are unfairly treated in the workforce, and I’ll dive deeper into the stats and stereotypes below. I’m also joined by two guests, Celine Hajjar, a mentor at Monday Girl, and Elena De Luigi, a Social Club member at Monday Girl and Humber journalism alum, to chat more about the organization.
At the end of this piece, I hope that you walk away feeling inspired by the mission of Monday Girl and its members. If you liked this piece, you are more than welcome to share it with your peers, family and friends!
And, if you want to learn more about game changers from Humber College’s journalism students, be sure to subscribe for more stories over the coming days.
Thanks, and happy listening!
— Veronica David
So long, Boys’ Club: How Monday Girl is Changing the Game for Women
Successful women need more than traditional forms of networking. Their professional network requires close, established relationships with other women in their industry who can attest to the best ways of navigating the professional world. According to a 2020 report by LinkedIn, women were 26% less likely to have strong networks than men.
For women, opportunities to grow their network can be sparse or challenging, especially in environments where women’s professional development is not supported.
Monday Girl was created to help.
Founded in 2017 by Istiana Bestari and Rachel Wong, Monday Girl is a Toronto-based, all-women digital platform designed to give women the opportunities to network, build confidence and create professional relationships with like-minded people who are familiar with the challenges of organic networking.
The platform provides its members with access to the tools, resources, career mentorship and networking opportunities through their subscription-based Social Club.
Since 2017, the Social Club has grown to over 8,000 members across Canada. They schedule coffee chats with established professionals, provide mentorship programs and host events interviewing women who are industry trailblazers and more.
Social Club mentors hail from top companies like Shopify, Google, Ssense, Mejuri, CBC and more, providing women with the opportunity to schedule chats and learn more about how they succeeded in their industry. Monday Girl alleviates the daunting task of cold networking for many women by connecting them with people willing to share their stories.
How are women affected in professional settings?
According to a 2021 study titled Women In the Workplace by McKinsey & Company, women —especially women of colour — are underrepresented in the workforce. Only 17% of entry-level jobs are held by women of colour, compared to 30% held by white women and 35% held by men. For women, and especially women of colour, their numbers only get smaller as they climb up the career ladder.
These challenges are amplified in industries that serve the professional advancement of men. Women in these industries are often given advice like this: “In order for women to succeed in a man’s world, they need to act like a man.”
So, what does “acting like a man” look like in the professional landscape? It’s playing golf, bantering about sports, and hanging around for an after-work drink. Sometimes, male-exclusive networking events occur under the radar, pushing women even further away from reaching their professional goals.
In response to this “boys’ club” stereotype present across many industries, Monday Girl created their own “girls’ club” to combat the systemic issues that are faced by women who are looking to expand their network and advance in their professional mission.
🎧 Listen Now
In this podcast episode, we talk to Monday Girl mentor and Shopify Merchant Experience Manager Celine Hajjar — a biology grad-turned-entrepreneur in tech — and Social Club member Elena de Luigi, a Humber alum and journalist. They tell us more about Monday Girl’s impact on professional networking for women.
Related reading
CBC | Monday Girl: networking group for women, transgender and non- binary professionals - On the Here & Now Toronto podcast, CBC host Ferrah Meralli chats with Istiana Bestari about the history behind Monday Girl. Bestari talks more about the organization’s growth and how diversity plays a big part in women’s professional development.
The Globe & Mail | For many women, networking sucks – but there is a way to bypass the boys’ club - The Globe talks to the Monday Girl co-founders about the organization. They also include a segment called Women And Work where readers ask their personal work-related questions to an industry pro. In this article, The Globe asks a human resource professional about how to handle micro-managers.
To Land Top Jobs, Women Need Different Types of Networks than Men - Kellog Insights provides research on the effects of the gender network gap and how women need strong relationships with other women in their industry in order to build their networks.
About the author
Veronica David is a freelance writer, content marketer, fourth-year journalism student and novice crochetier. With a knack for writing local stories about her community, she writes to tell the stories that happen at home, with big dreams to become a broadcaster in Toronto. She loves writing and reading fashion, food and lifestyle content and looks forward to a career that blends her passions. Reach her at veronicadavid.com.